Causes of the Russian Revolution

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Causes of the Russian Revolution

Consider the following causes of the October 1917 Russian Revolution:

Poor Living and Working Conditions

Effects of the First World War

The Appeal of Lenin and the Bolsheviks

The Limitations of the 1917 Provisional Government

Was any one of these causes more important than the others to the

Bolsheviks’ seizure of power in 1917? Explain your answer.

A1. When the Bolsheviks seized power in the October Russian

Revolution, the country was in complete turmoil. Every one was unhappy

about something and things weren’t going so well for the Royal family

and the aristocracy. The ongoing First World War with Russia was

despised by the army, the terrible working conditions were unbearable

for the industrial workers in the cities and the rich had all the best

farming land which was hated by the peasants. This was the situation

when the Bolsheviks, given Lenin as their leader, seized power and

made to form a Communist nation from the philosophy of Karl Marx.

In the cities, under the tall exhaust masts of factories laid millions

of industrial workers who lived in atrocious conditions. They worked

for up to 14 hours a day and received extremely low wages. Also, the

Russian factories were not up to date and were not efficient at all.

After a day like that, they hardy had any time for entertainment or

any money left for the basic needs. The workers could not do anything

about this as strikes were considered a mutiny and were crush with

extreme force. The Bolsheviks used this for their own ends by

promising a better deal with more money, more bread, more land and

peace. They said that...

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... Russia in the war, which was probably his biggest mistake and an

unexpected decision as almost every one in Russia hated the war.

Although he did make reforms to improve life for the people but these

were limited. After a while, it was understood that this Provisional

government was incapable of understanding the common man’s need.

I think that all the causes of the October Revolution were equally

important for Lenin and the Bolshevik’s seizure of power as the

Revolution wouldn’t have worked without any of them. Altogether, the

causes made a ‘mood for revolution’ and put a yearning for change in

the hearts of men. They made the people against the monarchy and the

Provisional government and, combined with the Bolsheviks’ ruthless

methods, gave them an open path to leading Russian into becoming a

true Communist state.

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